The Graveyard Shift

A cloudless, starry nights envelops Sunagakure, and Musu is spent within the confines of the gate house, working his 129th day straight of work at the gates. At first Musu saw this as a punishment; the endless nights, days, and lines of people wanting to get in was torturous for the Uzumaki Jounin. Now, things have settled, he's worked many night shifts recently, and its during this time that Musu is able ot really think and do what he does best: Study.

Musu has learned a lot on these night shifts and now uses it as chance to hone his skills. Today, on such a beautiful night, with nobody around, Musu decided to step out of the gate house and spend some time just looking up at the stars. A slight breeze blowing through his long, blood red hair, and the moonlight reflecting against his pale skin. Should anyone come up to the gates Musu was immediately ready to greet them, leaning against the door, and using his peripheral vision to look both ways to see if anyone was coming through.

Taking a few steps towards the mighty clefts of Sunagakure, Honey Bunches took a deep breath of air into his nose, exhaling slowly and letting the cool night air heal him from the day's work. Nothing set his spirits alight more than a sky full of stars, and it felt as if the deserts surrounding Suna were calling to him.

Inhaling the scent of someone he had not yet met before, he sniffed the air, peeking inside the gates and smiling with a warm greeting ready, introducing himself right away. "I'm Honey Bunches, I was interested in checking out any potential duties of someone on guard..." He scratches the back of his head. "Do you guys, close? Or is it more of a customer service seven to three kind of thing...?" He trails off, shaking off the talk of business to admire the beautiful night as he spoke with this new ninja.

As the nearly full moon was reaching his Apex, a few hours into his shifts, Musu heard a voice coming from inside the gates. In an instant Musu turned his attention and his neck over to the voice that coming from the village. As the ninja spoke, denoted by the headband the ninja wore, Musu knew at least that he was somebody who could at least understand what work the Uzumaki was going through. It also meant that certain aspects of decorum were not necessary; as Musu realized throughout his work at the gates that you must have a gentile touch with the citizenry of the village, and not so much with its ninja.

As the ninja spoke, Musu was intrigued by the mans name, Honey Bunches, and wondered how such a ninja was given or chose such a name. Nothing else really stood out of the ordinary to the Uzumaki Jounin or at least he didn't really care enough to think of it. Regardless of anything else Honey might have said, Musu had to know one thing before the conversation continued....

"Hello! Um... Honey Bunches. I'm Musu, nice to meet you fellow ninja! I have to ask you though, How does one earn a name like that? It's so unique! Is it one that you choose or is it one that was given?"

He lets out a sly grin, "This is the first I've been asked, that I can remember. For the most part, people think I got it off a box of cereal, or think something's wrong with me..." Honey Bunches frowns a bit, but doesn't seem disturbed in any way.

"Now that I think of it, I've been going by that name ever since I was separated from my wife, Laura. She always had some name or another for me, and I suppose that was my favorite that came to mind. She came up with it, but I chose it. A lot of those memories get fuzzy thinking back on em now..." Honey Bunches goes into a short tirade about his personal life before he started cruising the streets of Sunagakure. He mentioned his bloodline, showing the jagged patterns moving up and down his face, and how he had spent a good time of his life keeping himself from threatening anyone in larger areas such as Sunagakure. Now that he had attained mastery, however, the marks were proof that he was in control and also a mighty force to be reckoned with.

He nods as he finishes his short speech, acting as if he had not mostly forgotten his name. All he had was the knowledge that his first name was "Gordon," informing Musu of this also.

"You can call me Honey, or Bunches. Or Honey Bunches. I'm not a huge fan of Gordon..." The sly grin is once again plastered on his face, "What about you? Is Musu your full name? And have you lived here forever?"

The stars shining in the sky put a peaceful light that gave Honey the energy to trust this man with his story, the shimmering light a beautiful contrast to the barely lit sands from the waning moon.

Sensing and having no other souls nearby Musu felt obligated to turn his attention over to the ninja as he told the story of his name. With no other distractions to take away from this conversation Musu knew that it was the best and right thing to do. As the man spoke of a life long gone now Musu too began to feel nostalgic about his life before coming to Sunagakure. For all Musu knew from the age of 15 was the way of the ninja and before that... well all he knew were his parents and the wilds of the land of wind.

"A gripping story that shows the name has some weight, Honey Bunches, Thank you for sharing". Musu would say as he began to stand upright from his leaned perch next to the door. With the moon now creating a spotlight along the back of the Uzumaki and casting a long shadow toward Honey Bunches. A slight breeze would begin to lift light grains of sand from the surface, creating an calm atmosphere around the two ninja, and bringing a slight chill to the air of this warm summer's night.


"I'm from the Uzumaki clan, though my line falls far away from the main branch family, and I know very little about my heritage except for my affinity to Fuuinjutsu. I've lived in the land of wind all my life but I wouldn't consider Sunagakure my home. My reason for being here is... complicated." Musu would reply to Honey Bunches.

"Complicated? Would you like to tell me more?" Honey Bunches thinks for a moment, reflecting on the mutual feeling as if Sunagakure were not their true homes. Although it was a great place for study and opportunity, and the only place Honey had ever known, he felt a great pull towards the world beyond, if only to realize there were no other homes for him except for here. He was optimistic in that regard, thinking foremost that Sunagakure was his home and would always be such.

Maybe the chill of the night or a bite of an insect distracted him but in the back of his mind, he felt the pull inside him reach out to the unknown beyond.

"Have you ever been to the lands outside of the Wind Country?"

Musu paid no attention to the question honey bunches has asked about this complicated history with Sunagakure. In Musu's mind, it was none of his business, and furthermore this wasn't the right time nor place to get into such a long and rather sad story. As honey's attention appeared to be elsewhere for as second Musu would attempt to open the door back into guard gate door. Only then realizing that it was locked his eyes would lock on Honey again and it was only then that he would respond.

First, musu would nod his head from side as to signal that he didn't want to talk further about his past.... "I traveled to land of lightning once, a long time ago, but don't really remember all that much about the trip. Other than that I've traveled into the forests bordering the land of wind so I could have gone into the land of fire at some point, but most of my life has been spent here in the land of wind."

Looking at his company, Honey smelled the air and frowned deeply. He had a sense for these things, and he could tell that he was disturbed to have his past brought up.

Honey decided to leave it alone, letting the silence hang in the night. Hearing the sound of a locked gate, he didn't remark on it and rather was thankful that he was much too busy to let his mind wander to thoughts of his past. After his day, he was tired, and he imagined Musu would have a key if he were the guard.

Honey Bunches nodded slowly, trying to imagine what the lightning country would look like. Imagining the earth crackling with lightning, he let his imagination run a little wild for a moment, smelling the air and turning to Musu.

"Land of Fire, huh? Maybe I should take a few genin there... It'd be good for them to get out of the country for a bit. And I miss those huge trees..." He sighs, remembering what it was like to have more foliage, a memory from childhood that couldn't be completely accessed.

The slight breeze in the air began to intensify a bit as the conversation continued. The audible sound of the wind blowing around them only muffled by the narrow passageway that the cleft created. Thankfully, tonight the wind was blowing parallel to the large dome that surrounded the Sunagakure valley and tonight, at least for now, a wind tunnel did not spawn out of this current.


"The trees sure are nice, I remember going there with my father to hunt wild game, the stories I could tell about the creatures we faced..." Musu would say. His tone growing somber as the sentence went on. The thoughts of the past has returned into his mind, filling his mind with emotion, but Musu was a ninja of the job. He wouldn't dare let emotions get in the way of continuing his assignment.

AS the two continued to talk, Musu would try aimlessly to open the door from the outside, but to no avail. It was clear that Musu had locked the key inside the door of the gate house, again...

"Damn Keys..." Musu would mutter under his breath. 

After taking another deep breath in Musu would hold the door knob with his hand. The Uzumaki would close his eyes for a moment and let chakra manifest itself within his palm. A moment would pass and finally the two ninja would be able to hear the subtle clanging of metal coming through the door.


"It's all in the tumblers..." Musu would say to Honey, smiling as after another few seconds Musu would rotate the door knob and the door would open.

"Creatures?" Honey Bunches' interest deepened, thinking of feral monsters and multiheaded behemoths, the intensity in the air lost on him in this careless moment. Watching Musu approach the lock, he prepared himself to charge. In the few brief moments between then and him starting to tense his body, he saw the lock and gate pop open.

Honey Bunches watches, mouth agape. "You can talk to locks? And unlock them?!" Honey slaps a hand on the side of his face, quite impressed.

"You can do that with any lock? You must be some kind of master spy, right? Not that you'd tell me if you were--" Honey gives a double wink, leaning into the gesture. "But I would love to hear any stories."

Staying outside in the night, he would eagerly listen to any stories that he would tell, as well as accept any desire to go inside, or stay outside as Musu wished.

Eventually, he takes a pause, weary in the late night, letting out a huge yawn as he walks inside the gate, entering the gatehouse inside and tossing himself into a chair, too tired to ask if it was fine to grab a seat.

Rubbing his eyes, he looks towards Musu, with a timid expression on his face. "How do you open locks like that? Do you have some tools I'm not seeing?"